Mumbai knock out

The flight from Dubai was delayed for the morning fog, so I end up arriving at the hotel in Mumbai at 6pm. (Amazed by the Emirates airline, still a peasant, lol)
I was not able to stop from the airport to the hotel, but Mumbai at first sight is a complete shock to the senses.

The airport is surrounded by one the famous slumps, millions of people living in the worst hygiene conditions and full of diseases. In this slump, up to 15.000 share one “toilet”, yes, fifteen thousand people!!

Colors, smells, noise, mess, Mumbai is a blow for the senses, but a beautiful and unique blow. Tomorrow I´ll get to know it better.

The beach

Today, my last day in Dubai, I spent it reading at the beach. There are a lot of public beaches and parks with beach for anyone who wants to enjoy the sun (No pics or video allowed). The front row near the sea was filled of sunburn tourists, and in the back there were a lot of Asian families running away from the direct sunlight. Great beach days all year long.

The 7 star Burj Al-Arab

As nobody can enter the only Seven Star Hotel Burj Al-Arab hotel if it is not staying or without a reservation for one of the restaurants or bars, I booked an afternoon tea at the Skyview bar. I arrived to the gate and was taken to the hotel in a golf car to avoid the sun. There I entered the lobby that is an amazing 180 atrium in gold, white and blue. There’s an elevator directly to the bar, where you have a great view of Dubai, and The Palm and The World artificial islands. The service was really incredible, the food delicious (one glass of champagne, berries, salmon entry, assorted sandwiches and sweets, and tea or coffee), and the view was breathtaking. Even at the tea price, I think it’s a well worth experience. A really 7 star hotel.!!

Small peak ate the outside of the hotel (No video allowed inside)

Relaxing in the creek

Today was a day to rest. I woke up late and went out walking towards the creek. Big mistake, I was wondering why nobody walks.

Even during the winter the sun is too hard to walk. In my small trip I just found a few Indian and Pakistani workers on foot, the rest used bicycles.

I discovered a water taxi at the beginning of the creek and took it to take me to the old market, where I had a long breakfast-lunch while reading a book.

In the afternoon I came back to the hotel in a taxi. I need some shopping for tomorrow!

Dubai, WOW!!

I don’t know how to describe all the things that amazed me today.
Tuesday began very early: at 4am I was at the lobby waiting for the shuttle that would transport me to the balloon in the desert. After 95 km south of Dubai we arrived to take off point. In a few minutes we were flying over the dunes, and seconds away to see the sunrise in the desert. What a beautiful and relaxing scene, the hour flight seemed like 10 minutes.

After ballooning, I began touring the city. Just incredible how in the middle of the desert there’s this marvelous, green, in construction city. The sheikh Maktoum knew the emirate wouldn’t live from petroleum for eternity, so he began investing in infrastructure, education and health.

Hotels, banks, highways, skyscrapers, neighborhoods for electronic companies, for media companies, shopping malls, grass, flowers, trees, the biggest airport, the biggest building, the biggest handmade port, an airline, artificial islands, the Burj Al-Arab hotel in 1999 and BOOM, only 7% of Dubai´s income comes from petroleum nowadays.

A city well planned and well executed for tourism and investment.
Huge shopping malls with very low prices as the government doesn’t collect taxes, cars so cheap (for the same tax reason) that even taxis are luxury cars, futuristic and historic design 5 star hotels, hundreds of restaurants with any type of food, snow covered park to sky, Dubailand, F1 autodrome, everything you would like for an adult playground is in Dubai. Just amazing what they did turn sand into.

Arriving in Dubai

Today I woke up early, had to be at the airport at 6am to catch my plane to Dubai. It had a little delay, and for the change in time zone I arrived at 5pm to the hotel.

I was not able to give a good look at the city, and as tomorrow I´ll have to be at 4:15am in the lobby, I just went to the stores in front of the hotel to buy some cereal bars and water bottles. For now, the city looks like a huge shopping mall under construction.

Islamic Cairo

A whole different face of this huge 20 million metropolis. In the hundreds of years of Arabic rule, lots of mosques were built. One of the most attractive, mainly for its location on top of the Saladin fortress, is the Mohammed Ali Mosque, a copy of a Turkish mosque.

I went to see another two mosques, a beautiful one that Obama visited during his short trip to Egypt, and the biggest mosque in the country. Very impressive. It was a dive into Islam, its principles, its habits, Ramadan, its culture. A lot of things I was ignorant about.

After lunch I went to old Cairo, were Christians had its churches, and where the holy family stayed for 3 years while protecting the son from murder.

Arquitecture, clothing, food, cars, everything looks different in this other tourist part of the city.
Last day in Egypt, up to Dubai tomorrow morning. Masalama!!